SPANNERThe

Winter, 2011 Vol. 40. No. 1

FEBRUARY 16-18, 2011Planning, Scheduling, and Requirement Analysis Waterford

MARCH 31, 2011Reverse Trade FairBreslin Center, MSU East Lansing

APRIL 27-28, 2011Performance Based Request for Proposals - 2 Day Course Ann Arbor

MAY, 2011-tba Reunion and 40th Anniversary Celebration, honoring the Past Presidents of MPPOA

OCTOBER 6-7, 2011Annual Conference Doubletree Inn, Bay City

see mppoa.net for details and to register for all events

40 Years and Still Going StrongIn fact, we’re going stronger than ever! MPPOA, the premier organization for public purchasing professionals, has continued to grow and has gotten strong and stronger for 40 years. Members receive more and spend less for excellent educational oppor-tunities and certification programs and a solid variety of conferences and meetings. Our website and our ListServe have given members expanded ways to communicate about the real issues in the profession, and solve problems collectively.

40 Years. That’s a good long time. Through the course of 2011 we’ll be thanking those who molded the organization and contributed their time and energy to making this group what it is today. (See page 4 to find out what one of our ex-presidents said in Newsweek Magazine.) There are so many past and present members to emulate—Marvin Klang Award winners, Buyers and Managers of the Year, and those who have led their work community to receive the Entity of the Year award.

During the year, we’ll also be inviting others in the profession who haven’t yet found out about the benefits of joining MPPOA. A special effort is being put forth to get the word out and broaden our spectrum of membership. Pass it on—this year, new members pay only $40 for their annual dues in recognition of this monumental anni-versary. What does $40 get you? Access to a dynamic organization that has its finger on the public pulse and access to others who can

The RTF is Coming. The RTF is comingRegistration is looking good for the 4th Annual Reverse Trade Fair, which is being held at the Breslin Center at Michigan State University in East Lansing on March 31. With unlimited space and a still struggling economy, we’re expecting a record number of vendors to attend—over 400 by all estimates. So, we need you to step up and join the rest of the group to help keep the lines short and the vendors happy and make it a productive day for everyone involved.

Register at MPPOA.net now. On February 14 we’ll announce your participation on vendor registration materials. Those materials will be sent to you for distribution to your vendor list via email. This year, sponsors can see their names in lights! They are getting a chance to put their logo on the Spartan Vision Board in the center of the arena. Not only do they get exposure to purchasing professionals, but other business owners and decision makers, as well.

See page two for more details about this im-portant event. We need you !

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Happy February Everyone!

Well, here we are in the middle of winter and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s feels “enough snow already.”

The regional meeting was held January 24 and was well attended. We missed those of you who were not able to be there. Darin Matthews presented World Class Procurement Practices. He shared a number of interesting case studies and as usual our group shared their own experiences. To those on the com-mittee who worked so hard to make the meeting a success, please accept my sincere appreciation.

The RTF will be held March 31. We need EVERYONE to attend this event. The fees the vendors pay are the reason we have been able to reduce the cost of registration for the Annual Conference, increase the number of scholar-ships available and offer such exceptional speakers. Registration is available on the website. Please take a minute and register all you can spare for the day from your agency! We begin announcing your participation this week to eager vendors.

I encourage everyone to consider whether you want to get more involved in MPPOA in 2011. Elections are just around the corner and each of us has dif-ferent skills and resources to share, so if you are interested in ways you can make a difference, please contact me or any board member for more informa-tion.

Thank you for letting me serve you, I appreciate the opportunity. I hope to celebrate Purchasing Month with everyone at the RTF on March 31.

Christine Miller, County of Ottawa

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Christine Miller Ottawa County

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We need you!

2011 Reverse Trade Fair

The Breslin Center Michigan State University

East Lansing, MI

Friday, March 31, 2011 10:00AM - 5:00PM

Doors open at 8AM for member set up

No charge for members! (MPPOA is accepting new members NOW at the

$40 Anniversary Rate)

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 8:00AM Doors Open for Members 10:00AM Doors Open for Vendors 12:00 NOON Lunch 1:00PM RTF Resumes 4:00PM Cocktail Hour and brief business meeting 5:00PM Adjournment

free parkingin lot off Harrison Rd., directly adjacent to the Center

A note about our Marketing EffortsAt the recent board meeting, the board approved a communications initiative to reach out to a comprehensive list of local units of govern-ment associations. Many jobs, like township clerk or facilities manager, have job descriptions which give them purchasing responsibilities in this climate of smaller staffs.

MPPOA believes the time is right to extend an invitation to these groups to offer our collective expertise and support—with the added bonus of discounted membership for our 40th Anniversary year! Rebecca Nevai, chair of the Marketing Committee has already reached out to over a dozen associations like the Michigan Township Associa-tion, Township Clerks Association, and Michigan Municipal League. To build the relationship, newsletter articles and information on MPPOA will be submitted for the association boards for their con-sideration to share with all of their members. To suggest additional outreach activities, or provide contact information for a government, educational or other public association, please contact Rebecca Nevai at nevair@michigan.gov.

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EM

BE

R P

RO

FILE

JUDY DEVRIES- EPPINGA

Senior Procurement Specialist

Interurban Transit Partnership

“The Rapid”

Judy DeVries-Eppinga, CPPB was born in Toronto, Ontario and raised on a 100 acre poultry farm in the snow belt of Northern Ontario. Her first business venture was harvesting cucumbers for a local pickle company.

“I have always been drawn to ‘service’ industries,” she says. “My education [as a graduate from Davenport and Corner-stone in Hospitality Management, Sales and Marketing and Organization Lead-ership] has provided a great skill set for my chosen path.”

Judy began her purchasing career by overseeing non-foods contracts, bids and purchases for a large private food service distributor. Currently she works for the Interurban Transit Partnership—The Rapid, which is the Grand Rapids area public transportation provider. She is affectionately known as “the velvet ham-mer” around her department. She takes

care of smaller informal procurements on an ongoing basis.

In addition to buying responsibilities, she is working on a web page and ready to go “live.” And, next on the horizon is to figure out how to join E-Commerce and administer P cards.

“I think a big part of growing in your job is having the freedom to not be afraid of mak-ing mistakes,” she says. “I work for a great manager who lets me ‘run with my job.’ and I’ve been with the company for 12 1/2 years.”

Judy’s husband is an artist/sculptor. Their daughter, Madalynn is a 5th grader. Mom is involved in the educational process in Kent-wood as President for the Kentwood Public School District Parent Advisory Council and gardens in her spare time. She loves going to flea markets and antique stores and calls herself a “political news junkie.”

Judy looks forward to her involvement with the MPPOA family.

Janice Schlitters, Chair of the Speakers Bureau, is work-ing hard on making the upcoming Fall Conference “BUY the Bay” one of the best yet.

Jan has already lined up nationally known speakers in the field of public procurement. Rob Rickard, Chief Procurement Officer for the Oregon Secretary of State, master NIGP instructor and regular speaker at annual forums will be present. Rickard’s article on ethics: Is Anyone Watching? & other Ethical Questions won an award for an NIGP publication. This topic is near and

October 6-7, 2011Doubletree Hotel, Bay City, MI

BUY the BAY

dear to his heart, and is sure to inform and inspire. In ad-dition, Brent Maas, the Marketing Director for NIGP has agreed to address “Values and Guilding Principles in Public Procurement.”

Now, more than ever, it is important to be well informed on the many significant issues that impact our profession, and with an expanded budget from the RTF, MPPOA is able to attract word class speakers to Michigan to share their exper-tise in the field.

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Former MPPOA President featured in NewsweekNewsweek Magazine recently gave some ink to Hansen Clarke, U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 13th Congressional District. Beating out Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick, the former MPPOA President has brought the same values and ethics he learned in public purchasing.

Hansen attended Cornell University’s College of Architecture, Art and Planning, where he studied painting. He went on to earn a law degree from Georgetown Law School and serve in the State Senate. He’s the product of an African American mother and an undocumented immigrant father from a part of India that is now Bangladesh. As Newsweek pointed out in an extensive profile, Clarke was born in Detroit and raised as a Mus-lim until his father died when he was 8. He later

The freshman Detroit representative posted a series of personal artworks on Facebook that feature bright colors, female faces, flowers and, in one case, a re-imagining of the Spirit of Detroit.

converted to Roman Catholicism and twice attempted to become a priest.

These days, Clarke is practically liv-ing out of his office, which he outfit-ted with a mattress and sleeping bag. “Washington is not going to be a home for me — I’m only there to work,” he told the New York Times earlier this month. “I need to be able to work up

to 20 hours a day and still get some decent sleep, and if I sleep in my of-fice I’ll be able to do that.”

In his spare time, Hansen still cre-ates art. The picture above is one of his “hauntingly impressionistic oils.”

Congratulations, Hansen Clarke. Keep the momentum going!

Call for nominationsGet ready now to nominate fellow MP-POA members (or yourself) for one of the following positions:

President-Elect

Secretary

3 Board of Directors positions

To do so, please contact Past President Stephanie Robinson

at srobinso@lansingmi.gov

New CPPB Announced

Judith M. DeVries-Eppinga Interurban Transit Partnership—The Rapid Grand Rapids, MI

see page 3, “Member Profile” for more about DeVries-Eppinga

We need you!

It’s elementary—Only our members can make the Reverse Trade Fair a Success

- 5 -Educational seminar a hit!Darin Matthews leads

discussion on World Class ProcurementThe entire cost of the seminar speaker was

underwritten by MPPOA through proceeds from the Reverse Trade Fair.

Snacks were a hit, too! Forrest Babcock, of the Lansing Housing Commis-sion enjoys the break.

l to r: Nick Lam, Lisa Cummins, Jean Farris and Cindy Carnes enjoy networking over lunch

l to r: Keri Bright, organizer of the seminar, takes a few minutes to relax with Andrew Chambliss; and Jana Daroczy.

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LIFE MEMBER

APPLICATIONIf you are considering retirement soon, down-load the “Life Member Application” from the website at mppoa.net. This way, we can keep current personal infor-mation about you and keep you informed with the Spanner and other communications.

MPPOA Celebrates 40 YearsAnd, we want you to celebrate, too!

New member dues are only $40!

Get others in your organization involved, invite officials from your community, or just call a friend in the business who would benefit from the educational and networking opportunities through MPPOA.

Still room in classKeri Bright, Chair of the Professional Develop-ment Committee is seeking several more partici-pants in a class titled, “Performance Based Request for Proposals” which will be held in Ann Arbor April 27 and 28.

If you are interested, simply register by clicking on the event under the Calendar at mppoa.net.

We need you!

to help make the RTF a success

I Will Do More! I will do more than belong, I will participate.

I will do more than care, I will help.

I will do more than believe, I will practice.

I will do more than be fair, I will be kind.

I will do more than dream, I will work.

I will do more than earn, I will enrich.

I will do more than be friendly, I will be a friend.

I will do more than give, I will serve.

I will do more than live, I will grow.

This poem was sent to us by Kathy Harrington, CPPB, Membership Chair for the Indiana Chapter of NIGP

LIFE MEMBERS Announced

Anjan Ghosh, Department of Technology Management and Budget (DTMB),

State of Michigan.

Michael Glasson,CPPO, C.P.M, retired June 1, 2010 from Genesee County. Mike is now in Tucson, Arizona.

To reach him, email Mike at: mikeg53657@aol.com